For the last 22 years (13 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 23rd annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Peter DeBoer (coach), Mikael Granlund, Mason Marchment, Evgenii Dadonov, Matt Dumba, Cody Ceci, Brendan Smith, Colin Blackwell, Matej Blumel, Magnus Hellberg

Incoming – Glen Gulutzan (coach), Radek Faksa, Vladislav Kolyachonok

Impact of changes

As shown above, the Stars have lost more NHL personnel than they have gained this offseason. This was so that the Stars could fit their team under the salary cap, which is a common issue for contending teams. The departures of three established forwards in Granlund, Marchment, and Dadonov could create additional responsibility for Mavrik Bourque, who scored 25 points in 73 games in his rookie season. Bourque's icetime should increase from the 12 minutes per game he received in 2024-25, with some of that coming in the form of power-play time.

DeBoer has a proven track record of success at the NHL level, but he seems to wear out his welcome after a certain period of time. The switch to Gulutzan as head coach shouldn't be hugely noticeable for a Stars team with its eye on the Stanley Cup. Gulutzan handled the power play in his previous role as an Oilers assistant coach, so the Stars' middle-of-the-pack 22.0% power-play conversion rate could improve.

Ready for Full Time

Justin Hryckowian – The forward departures mentioned above could also create an opening for Hryckowian, who has converted an amateur tryout with the AHL Texas Stars into an entry-level contract with the NHL Stars. Undrafted, Hryckowian was successful at Northeastern University, scoring at over a point per game in his final two seasons there. In his first AHL season, Hryckowian was second on the baby Stars with 60 points in 67 games. The Stars don't have any blue-chip prospects, which works in his favor.

Lian Bichsel – The giant (6-7, 235-pound) Swiss defenseman wasted no time in imposing a physical presence in his first NHL season, leading the Stars with 155 Hits in just 38 games. Over an 82-game season, that's over 300 Hits, which would have placed him in the top 5 in that category. Bichsel doesn't project to be dominant offensively, but he's an old-school defenseman who could be relevant in bangers leagues as early as this season.

Fantasy Outlook

The addition of Rantanen at the 2025 trade deadline should continue to benefit many of the Stars' top players. By adding Rantanen, the Stars are clearly one of the league's deepest teams. From a fantasy perspective, the Stars feature six players in the Top 100 Roto Rankings (Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, Thomas Harley), which is higher than that of any other team. On top of that, Jake Oettinger is a top-5 fantasy goalie, so the Stars offer as much legitimate fantasy value as any team out there.

The Stars could be considered a true elite center short of being a complete team. Perhaps Johnston becomes that 1C that they need. Entering his fourth season at just 22 years of age, Johnston has seen increases in goals, assists, power-play points, and icetime each season, seemingly headed to a point-per-game pace.

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One burning question is whether Harley or Miro Heiskanen will appear on the Stars' top power play. Harley was clearly the better scorer in 2024-25 even from a points-per-game perspective, but Heiskanen held the top power play role before he was injured. An unwritten rule in sports is that a player doesn't lose their role due to injury, so Heiskanen could be back in that role to start the season. However, it seems inevitable that Harley will be on the top power play soon.

Fantasy Grade: A (Last year: A-)

Check out the rest of the Dobber team previews here.